Political appointees at the Department of Homeland Security hailed the Trump administration’s border security accomplishments over the past four years and lambasted Twitter for its censorship of an official’s tweet.
“Not everyone trying to enter our country illegally are good,” said acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan during a press conference in Tucson, Arizona, on Monday afternoon, just one day before the election. “It’s why we need the tools like the wall. This is exactly what Twitter didn’t want the American people to hear. Yes, Twitter, walls work. Borders matter.”
Ken Cuccinelli, the senior official performing the duties of DHS deputy secretary, claimed the social media company found it “more important” to “push their dangerous beliefs than it is to inform the public” by taking down a recent post by Morgan.
Last Wednesday, Morgan posted to Twitter that the new border wall system was preventing criminals from easily entering the United States from Mexico by helping agents “stop gang members, murderers, sexual predators, and drugs from entering our country.” All have been documented in annual federal reports being arrested at the southern border. Twitter shut down Morgan’s account. Morgan said he appealed the decision and was denied. CBP then appealed the decision again, and Morgan’s account was restored after 20 hours of being in the black.
Back online after Twitter lock out for ~20 hours. @Twitter’s censorship should outrage every American. Not only did Twitter block me from posting, they BLOCKED YOU from the TRUTH.
Read my statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tjNgLn5knx
— CBP Mark Morgan (@CBPMarkMorgan) October 29, 2020
“This is no longer about policy disagreements,” Cuccinelli said. “For us, it’s about saving American lives by communicating information to the American people and, for us, being transparent, frankly. But the tech companies and media have decided those lives are worth sacrificing if it means the facts disrupt their precious narrative. This dystopian scenario in which we find ourselves is deeply troubling.”
Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf called out Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a letter last Friday. Wolf said Twitter’s determination that Morgan’s tweet was “hate content” actually “poses a threat to national security.” The Trump administration, notably President Trump, has been censored on occasion by Twitter.
Twitter’s censoring of factual information poses a threat to national security.
It should not be up to corporate bureaucrats to determine what security information the American public receives. https://t.co/9WzHcn4HLn pic.twitter.com/4lHJW5vEpZ
— Acting Secretary Chad Wolf (@DHS_Wolf) October 30, 2020
